Car & Driver Archive: 2007 Honda Accord vs. Nissan Altima, Kia Optima, Saturn Aura, Toyota Camry, Chrysler Sebring

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Bebealex@reddit

Interesting how much of each models we see every day, today. Haven't seen the Americans in years.

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coyote500@reddit

Of the 4 Saturn Auras that were sold at least 1 has to still be on the road

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Gobbledygooker316@reddit

I mean I see the 2007-era Impalas all the time but it’s not in that article

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idontremembermyoldus@reddit

Same with the '08-'12 Malibu, which the Aura was based on. The Saturn just wasn't very popular to begin with.

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DodgerBlueRobert1@reddit

I almost never see that 2nd gen Optima, especially the pre-facelifed version like in the article. The 3 Japanese cars though? All the time.

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lifegoeson2702@reddit (OP)

The Altima is still running with a dent on every panel, expired tags, missing bumper, illegal tint, a donut spare, badly wired subs & shitty aftermarket LEDs

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We all like to joke that Nissan is the stellantis of Japan or how unreliable they are. But god damn it. Those things are abused to hell and treated like shit but fuck me, they are still on the road. I want to assume it’s just a numbers game. Like Nissan sold sooooooooooo many that there are that many to burn through. Yet the Camry out sold it and I still see as many shitty altimas as accords.

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idontremembermyoldus@reddit

We all like to joke that Nissan is the stellantis of Japan

I think that has more to do with their propensity to finance people with shit credit than the quality of the vehicles themselves.

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Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit

especially the pre-facelifted

Those were only around for 2006 and 2007 before getting a facelift I think

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DodgerBlueRobert1@reddit

2006-2008 were pre-facelift, while 2009-2010 were post-facelift. Those are more common, but still kinda rare.

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Fit_Equivalent3610@reddit

Yeah. I still see a ton of Theta-powered Optimas (presumably on their third engines), but none of the 2nd gen. Tons of the three Japanese contenders still running around looking beat half to death.

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Available_Quote_5567@reddit

My wife had an Aura pull out in front of her two years ago and she obliterated it with my Yukon. The guy barely survived. His car was so rusty it basically disintegrated and the B pillar was almost touching the center console.

Before you feel bad for the guy, he had a .31 BAC and was attempting to drive home 180ish miles. He made it about 200 yard before pulling out in front of my wife.

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Bebealex@reddit

Sounds about right

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Roboticpoultry@reddit

Someone at my last shop had an Aura and it was rough. I haven’t seen one of those Sebrings in years

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Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit

This gen was when the Optima and Sonata finally became real competitors in this class

Now they're basically the only ones left, along with the Camry and Accord...

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Windows-XP-Home-NEW@reddit

And nowadays I’d actually argue that they’re even more competitive than the Camry and Accord.

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Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit

They're great cars, as long as they don't have the DCT

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Abba_Fiskbullar@reddit

I've got a 2016 optima with the 1.6 turbo and DCT, and it's had zero problems over 82k miles.

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Bebealex@reddit

I mean you have the 1.6t. The NA 2.0 we frequently see people on their third engine before 100k.

Your car is also brand new as far as mileage goes..

My biggest gripe (I had a 2019 Elantra for 5 years, 200k), is the rattles and squeaks. The car feels like it's falling apart.

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Bebealex@reddit

Or the grenading engines.

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Energy4Days@reddit

My friend had that Altima in high school

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familyguy20@reddit

Would have had the 2007 Altima at that point. Having had a 2011 one it was pretty reliable. The V6 is great and for what it’s offering at that period is pretty good future tech with push button start and a backup camera.

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aprtur@reddit

2007 was the last year for the 6MT, V6 Accord sedan, so that was the real gem out of all of the cars in this lineup. Fantastic car, and you even had the option for a supercharger from Comptech that made them seriously quick.

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gothiicserpent@reddit

I had an '07 6-6 coupe for a few years. Rare find. Would have kept it just for the novelty alone if I had space to start a car collection

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aprtur@reddit

Just before a friend of mine and I graduated college, he bought an 07 Comptech supercharged 6/6 with the factory aero kit, Brembos, and some nice coilovers installed on it (can't recall which right now), but that car was a monster. They're seriously underrated for what they are.

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gothiicserpent@reddit

Must have been somewhat of a sleeper. Nobody expects accords to be fast in that way. Always loved the honda stuck to double wishbone fronts back then. The sensible side of me kept me from modding the accord so never got to experience it on coilovers. Would have loved the HFP kit too because it completes the 00s jdm tuner look. Silver lining is all those funds saved let me dump money into the brz

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aprtur@reddit

Absolutely - both the coupe and the sedan 6/6, to be honest. That being said, you probably have more fun in the BRZ overall - those Accords are impressive for what they are, but a lightweight RWD coupe is just a different animal all together.

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familyguy20@reddit

You could get a 6MT V6 Altima too! Heard not bad things about it

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aprtur@reddit

Man, I totally forgot about the 3.5SE in the Altima being at the same point they killed the manual Maxima. Great drivetrain, but even as a big Nissan softie, I'll admit that this was where Nissan's interiors were at their cheapest. The Accord felt like a more solid car in the higher trims like the 6/6 I was mentioning here (probably helped by it being the Inspire in Japan in this generation, which was more upscale like a TL for the Japanese market).

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AdmiralZassman@reddit

Honestly the 2001 Sebring was the best looking of any of the sedans around that time, and then they kept hitting it with the ugly stick

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Alive_Internet@reddit

It’s wild to see how far we’ve come in mpg. The best in that group was was 24 mpg, while Accords and Camrys today are getting double that with more power.

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aprtur@reddit

That seems a bit weird to me, given the Accord was rated 24 city and 34 highway - their test here must have leaned more heavily on city driving. That being said, the real hidden gem for the Accord at this time were the range toppers - the "6/6" V6 6-speed, and the V6 Hybrid. The manual is self explanatory, but the Hybrids were wild - rated at 30 city /37 highway, and faster than a regular V6 auto, it's pretty amazing to think Honda made their performance V6 hybrid more efficient than the four cylinder.

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ChasedWarrior@reddit

Unfortunately it didn't sell because the fuel economy wasn't good enough and the high price

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aprtur@reddit

Quite different reasons, actually - I was working in a Honda dealership at that time, and Honda wasn't marketing it as an economy focused car. The focus was on being the most powerful stock Accord, without compromising on efficiency to do it. The high price, combined with "hybrid" not being associated with performance at the time, as well as production being very limited, made it an oddball car. It's a shame they didn't have better marketing and buyer acceptance, because they were ahead of their time.

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ChasedWarrior@reddit

Well remember C/D drivers have lead feet and fuel economy numbers tend to be much lower than what most average drivers will get.

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lifegoeson2702@reddit (OP)

Right? Direct injection & hybridization along with more advanced transmissions certainly helped

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Peak Accord was something else man.

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costafilh0@reddit

Modern car market: So, about the 2007 Accord

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DrivenToBoredom@reddit

Does the Altima have three spare tires, one burnt out headlight, one broken taillight, and heavily tinted windows?